A Broken Promise
by xxMizukixx
Summary: A Sasuke x Hinata x Gaara triangle, slight Itachi x Hinata. Hinata wants Naruto to notice her, unfortunately things don’t always happen the way you want them to. Slightly angsty. Please Read and Review. Chapter Five is up!
1. Chapter One

A Broken Promise.

Summary

A Sasuke x Hinata x Gaara triangle, slight Itachi x Hinata. Hinata wants Naruto to notice her, unfortunately things don't always happen the way you want them to. Slightly angsty. – I Suck at Summaries- Please Read and Review.

Chapter 1.

Hinata looked at herself in the mirror as she sighed, seeing herself in the mirror had always depressed her. She thought she didn't look too bad, but compared to her friends: Ino, Sakura and TenTen she looked... well, plain. Hinata didn't like to admit it, but it bothered her that most of the boys prefered Sakura, Ino or TenTen. Hinata looked at the mirror again, she wanted to look good for the annual Konoha festival. But... she would never match Sakura or the others. Sighing, she picked a box where she kept her most precious possesion. She paused as she held the familiar hair clip.

_"I'll not sacrifice my daughter for the well-being of another clan; much less the Uchiha clan! Sarutobi-Sama." A tall man in his thirties slammed his hand on the nearby table. His white eyes showed his anger._

_"Hiashi-sama, please calm down." The man besides him raised his voice. "I will remind you that it is not for my clan´s well being, but for political reasons. Konoha hasn´t been able to rebuild its military power, since the last war."_

_Hiashi-sama glared angrily at the man besides him."Hmph. Uchiha, you have two sons, one of them seems to be causing a great commotion in Konoha because of his skills; the other who seems to have inherited your clan's weakness. I must decline your offer if you are trying to engage the weak one to my daughter, I'll not let him disgrace my families' noble blood."_

_"Heh. So you've heard about my son; you flatter me Hyuuga-sama. Itachi´s skills are near legendary. Even you seem to be amazed that an Uchiha has finally surpassed your clan's accomplishments." The man besides Hiashi boasted._

_"Hmph." Hiashi scoffed._

_"Very well. I agree." The Uchiha voiced._

_"Well then, Shall we begin with the agreement? Hokage-sama politely raised from his seat with a familiar scroll. "Just sign here and the engagement will be completed." Sarutobi watched as the two men signed their names. He smiled. He had just assured peace between Konoha's strongest clans. Sure, he had said it was for Konoha... but in truth he had disguised the arrangement. It wasn´t something he liked to do, but the Uchihas and the Hyuugas had been rival clans for years. The rivalry had worsened because of Itachi´s superb accomplishments; as a Hokage he couldn´t afford to have another war, now that peace had finally been restored..._

_"I have arrived as I promised, Hiashi-sama." The proud Uchiha followed by his two sons greeted the arrogant man, who sat next to her six year old daughter. The Hyuuga watched his future son-in-law with interest. He wanted to see the boy who had surpassed his' and his ancestor's accomplishements._

_Itachi, sensing the older Hyuuga's watchful eye, politely bowed and began to speak: "You have a beautiful daughter, Hiashi-sama, I am truly honored that she will become my wife."_

_Hiashi laughed, he could see why this boy was considered amazing. He had masked his emotions perfectly. He could also see that he was very well disciplined; he'd be a suitable husband for his daughter. " As expected from my future son-in-law. I can see your father has taught you well." Hiashi said. " Now let your father and me speak for a while. Hinata, show them around." Hiashi motioned her daughter to stand up._

_Hinata stood from her position and walked towards her father. She bowed requesting permission, and once it was granted, she opened the door and asked the two Uchiha boys to follow her. All of this was done while avoiding unneccesary noises and interruptions. The girl had shown her excellent discipline and obedience in the task._

_Itachi looked at his future wife as they walked away from the room. She was currently six, the same age as his brother Sasuke. He had lied to Hiashi before, she wasn't beautiful, but she wasn't ugly either. She was just nice in her own way. There was something about her that just said that she would be an excellent wife. She was obedient, shy and cute, if he had to admit it. She didn't look like the type of girl that who would fall for looks, or the type of girl who was exceedingly stubborn. She wasn't a spoiled child, either... that, he could tell just by looking at her. She reminded Itachi of himself they probably were quite alike, anyways._

_"Nii-san? Nii-san?" Sasuke's voice and a familiar tug interrupted his brother's thoughts._

_"What is it?" Itachi replied with no apparent interest._

_"Nii-san, is it true that the cute girl over there will become your wife?" Sasuke looked at his brother, while holding a part of Itachi's short as he tagged along._

_" Hai, Sasuke." He replied. "Why do you ask?"_

_" Nii-san." He whispered and motioned Itachi to kneel down, in a rather suspicious way._

_Itachi kneeled down to hear what his little brother had to say._

_"Nii-San, Can she be my wife too?" He whispered._

_Itachi sweatdropped. "Iie, Sasuke you'll get your wife too." He then smiled at his foolish brother._

_"But, Nii-san!" He whined out loud. Realizing that Hinata had just turned back to face him, Sasuke blushed and then whispered in Itachi's ear again. "I doubt she'll be as cute as yours."_

_"Heh." Itachi smirked. "You're probably right." He stood up and pat his brother's head._

_Sasuke crossed his arms. "You always get better stuff, Itachi it's not fair." Sasuke whined again as he followed his older brother._

_Itachi then decided to introduce himself to Hinata. They were quite far from the main house by now, so he could relax a little with out having the old Hyuuga around._

_"So, what's your name little one?" Itachi caught up with Hinata._

_She lowered her head._

_"Did I do something wrong?" Itachi asked, hoping he hadn't._

_"Iie..." She quickly answered. "M...y n...ame is ...Hyuuga H-Hinata." She stuttered while she looked at the ground._

_"Hinata, that's a nice name, I'm Uchiha Itachi. Say Hinata-chan, would you mind if we sat under the tree over there?" Itachi pointed to a tree nearby._

_Hinata blushed and nodded as she led them to the tree. Once there, Itachi sat beside her. Sasuke, who was still quite mad at his brother, also sat besides Hinata, though on the other side of the tree._

_Itachi looked at Hinata once again, she was so young. Perhaps, she was better suited to be Sasuke's wife instead. He was sure that she'd correct Sasuke's bad manners and habits. He looked at her again, there was something about her that made her very interesting. She looked mature for such a young age. Maybe, she had accepted her cruel fate, just as he once had._

_"So..." Itachi cleared his throat. " You're attending school, right?"_

_"Hai." She blushed._

_"Then you must have met my brother, Sasuke?" Itachi smiled._

_" I-iie..." Hinata lied... Anyways, she had only seen him a few times around._

_" Hinata, you're in room A, right? " Sasuke suddenly asked._

_Hinata nodded._

_"Heh, I knew it." Sasuke crossed his arms, as he tried to do a "nice guy pose"._

_Itachi's eye suddenly twitched. Whatever Sasuke was trying to do, Itachi was going to make sure that his brother didn't suceed. It almost seemed as if Sasuke was trying to hit on his wife. His eye twitched again. As if, his little brother, could really snatch her. Itachi eyed Sasuke suspiciously._

_" Oi! Hinata, would you like to be my wife?" Sasuke asked boldly._

_" Eh?" Hinata covered her face with her hands, she felt her face was on fire._

_Itachi glared at Sasuke as his eye twitched, yet again._

_"Hinata, eh? Hinata? What's wrong? Daijoubou?" Sasuke asked concerned._

_" Baka." Itachi flicked his brother's forehead._

_" Hey! What was that for nii-san?" Sasuke whined as he rubbed his forehead._

_"Hitting on my wife." Itachi responded calmly._

_"Nani! But I didn't hit Hinata!" Sasuke shouted at Itachi and looked at him suspiciously._

_Itachi laughed at his brother's foolishness, he watched as Hinata raised her head a little. She was still too embarrassed._

_"Hinata tell him the truth?" Sasuke asked._

_"Hinata back me up here?" Itachi begged._

Hinata touched the hair clip. She'd be married by now... If it wasn't for the Uchiha tragedy. Itachi... How could he have killed his entire clan? Hinata closed her eyes. Even on the day of the tragedy, Itachi's face had shown no hatred. He had masked his feelings perfectly.

_"Ohayou, Hinata-chan." Itachi smiled as he greeted Hinata._

_"Ohayou, Itachi-san" Hinata smiled back a slight blush appeared._

_"Hinata-chan..." Itachi cleared his throat._

_"W-What is it?" Hinata sensed Itachi's intentions._

_"I have to go on a mission, a long mission. I won't be able to visit you for a while." Itachi stated._

_"A long mission? How long?" Hinata asked concerned._

_"Perhaps, some years." Itachi smiled._

_"Eh?" Hinata's eyes went wide._

_"Just kidding. You should have seen your face" Itachi laughed. " It'll be some months or so. Well, anyways, Hinata I brought you something."_

_"Itachi..." She lowered her head. " You shouldn't have."_

_"Hinata-chan, you shoudn't be ashamed, it's perfectly normal for me to give you a gift. Especially, since I technically am your boyfriend." Itachi winked._

_Hinata blushed, she felt terribly embarrassed now. She began to play with her fingers nervously._

_"Close your eyes." Itachi ordered. Hinata shut her eyes as he carefully clipped something in her hair._

_"Promise you'll wait for me." Itachi smiled._

_"O-okay." She smiled._

_Itachi hugged her before he left. Itachi smiled, she'd wait for him, it was a promise._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Hinata felt the a few tears running down her cheeks. It had been so difficult to forget about Itachi. Especially, when Itachi's younger brother constantly reminded her. The normally cheery Sasuke had turned into a selfish, spoiled boy. Every time they'd see each other Sasuke would glare at her or make her incredibly uncomfortable. Sometimes he even said rude comments. Even so, Hinata sometimes felt sorry for Sasuke, growing up all alone. As for her... it had been tough to get over the older Uchiha, but when Naruto came into the picture, his cheery atittude had warmed her heart. She really really admired Naruto, a lot. Hinata looked at the hairpiece. It was incredibly beautiful, and it matched her mother's white kimono, which she was now wearing, perfectly. Her mother's kimono seemed to be the only decent piece of clothing she had left after her father had disowned her and cast her away with the branch family... Hinata shook her head, she would forget about the pain in her heart for now. Today, she would look her nicest for Naruto-kun. Hinata thought, as she clipped her possesion in its place.

KONOHA ANNUAL FESTIVAL 7:00PM

"Hinata! Over here!" Ino waved. Hinata looked at Ino who wore a beautiful pink kimono. She sat with Shikamaru and Chouji at the barbeque stand. "Come sit with us!" Ino smiled.

Hinata smiled and waved. Out of all the girls in the classroom, she considered Ino to be the nicest.

" Oi, Hinata! You look very pretty today." Shikamaru greeted in his casual voice tone.

"Eh? Shikamaru!" An angry Ino grabbed Shikamaru's neck. " How come I'm your date and you never said anything like that!"

Hinata suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"How troublesome." The rookie jounin sighed.

Chouji and Hinata looked at each other as they both laughed. Ino's arm still hung around the jounin's neck.

"Hey Ino, I have an idea why don't we go see the others, since Hinata hasn't seen them yet." Shikamaru interrupted trying to escape a certain blonde's rage.

Ino looked at Shikamaru and scoffed. He _had_ to try better than that.

Shikamaru quickly moved to plan B. "Psst. You know we could get a certain someone to cross the bridge with Hinata!" He whispered in Ino's ear knowing that it would trigger Ino's secret hobby.

"Alright." Ino agreed happily and almost immediately. Almost everyone knew about Hinata's huge crush on Naruto.

"Phew." Shikamaru looked back at Chouji who laughed at him.

"Let's go see Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke!" Ino said as she pointed towards the ramen stand.

Team Nine and Hinata began to walk towards the nearby stand... Hinata felt her heart beat at abnormally fast rate, as they entered. She felt her heart, and blushed. Would Naruto notice her?

"Eh? forehead girl! I see you still haven't taken Sasuke, to cross the bridge!" Ino emphasized the last words. – Yay! It's my Chance! - Inner Ino practically screamed.

"Ino-pig! You won't be taking him, because Sasuke-kun and me..." Sakura blushed and paused. "We'll be crossing that bridge first!" Sakura pointed back.

"Eh, Hinata enjoy the match." Shikamaru sighed as he took a seat. Chouji, followed Shikamaru's actions too, but he then ordered some ramen.

Hinata laughed, she had never witnessed one of their fights before. Secretly she wanted to cross the bridge that both girls were speaking about.But she wanted to cross it with Naruto-kun. It was said couples that crossed the bridge toghether would share a happy and long lasting relationship. She blushed and then, looked at Naruto, who was still eating his ramen. He probably wouldn't notice her today either. Hinata looked at the floor.

Shikamaru watched Hinata as she lowered her head; boy what had Naruto done to deserve such a nice girl. He looked at Sakura and Ino and then looked at Sasuke, whose eyes were fixed on Hinata. Wait, Hinata... Something was definetly wrong. Shikamaru concluded. Sasuke was glaring evily at the shy Hinata?

"Ino, why don't you show Hinata around?" Shikamaru interrupted Sakura and Ino's cafight.

Ino tried to read Shikamaru's mind as she eyed him suspiciously. What was wrong with Shikamaru? He knew better than that, he normally wouldn't interrupt their fights, unless it was something really, really serious. Ino blinked, it looked that she would just have to loose against Sakura again.

"Oh-ok, Let's go Hinata." Ino held Hinata's hand as she walked away.

"Heh. Looks like I win again, Ino-pig!" Sakura smirked as Inner Sakura cheered.

Ino ignored Sakura's comment as she walked away. "So where do you want to go Hinata?"

"A-Anywhere is fine. Arigatou, Ino." Hinata bowed.

"Then let's go see the couples that cross the bridge!" Ino said in a joyful manner.

" O-Ok." Hinata looked somewhat downcast. She had left without being able to talk to Naruto-kun.

"Hey, why the long face?" Ino noticed Hinata's mood.

"It's nothing." Hinata forced her smile. They walked a bit more until they were surrounded by many couples, many happy couples. The couples were each taking turns to cross the bridge. The people around cheered as the couples walked by.

"Hinata!" Ino suddenly shouted. " Look it's Neji and TenTen they're crossing the bridge."

Hinata fixed her eyes on the bridge. Then she stared at Neji, who looked very embarassed. TenTen on the other hand looked amazingly happy. Hinata was sure that TenTen had finally convinced Neji to make their relationship public. Neji had told Hinata that he had only hesitated because he disliked anything that dealt with excessive attention. So Neji and TenTen had kept their relationship in secret. Only Lee and her knew about it, until now. Hinata smiled, she knew her Nii-san would truly be happy now.

"Let's go greet them!" Ino rushed foward.

Hinata backed a little, she really didn't want to bother her Nii-san for awhile. Especially since she understood Neji's feelings better than anyone else. Almost instantly, she felt someone grab her hand rather forcefully and drag her into the nearby woods.

Hinata silently activated her Byakugan with her free hand, she really coudn't see her captor that well. Surely, he had not recognized her white eyes, otherwise he wouldn't be picking a fight with her. She would let him drag her a bit further in the woods. The more darkness, the clearer and easier it became to deal with her enemy. Hinata felt confident for once. Neji had been training her, and she wasn't as weak as before. A few moments later her captor came to a halt. She lifted her eyes to meet some angry red ones.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She looked at the Uchiha increduosly as she deactivated her Byakugan. Sasuke, then grabbed her other hand and turned her around making it nearly impossible for Hinata to escape.

"S-Sasuke?" Hinata cried in pain, Sasuke was hurting her.

"Where did you get that? Who gave you the damn thing?" Sasuke said as he tightened his grip. "It was Itachi, wasn't it?"

Hinata shrieked in pain. She couldn't feel her hands anymore.

"Leave her alone."

Sasuke looked back to check where the voice had come from. Hinata, who was still unable to move, felt relieved. Someone had come to save her.

"Sabaku no Gaara, this is none of your business." Sasuke stared icily at the Sand Shinobi intently as Gaara got closer to him.

Hinata, sighed inwardly, it was true that Sunagakure and Konohagakure were allies again, but she expected someone else to rescue her. Not saying that she wasn't thankful, but this Gaara... he still looked a bit creepy and suspicious.

Sasuke suddenly let go of her in a rather painful way. Hinata fell on her knees, as her wrists began to hurt from the fall. She watched both men glare at each other and silently prayed. She wished that these two wouldn't get into a fight. Hinata watched Gaara's gourd intently as he released the cork. Hinata prayed some more, and closed her eyes, she didn't want him to kill Sasuke. Images of the ninjas from the hidden village of the rain still lingered on her mind...

Sasuke pushed Gaara as he left, not wanting to admit his obvious defeat. Gaara remained still as he watched the Uchiha leave. When Sasuke was finally out of his sight, Gaara shifted his gaze towards the girl, who seemed to have shut her eyes, in a rather funny way. He watched her wrists, which were now quite red and swollen.

"He's gone." He stated calmly. She peaked and opened her eyes as she looked around.

"Ar-Arigatou." She uttered not daring to lift her gaze.

She attempted to stand, but as soon as she did she let out a soft cry. Gaara watched the girl with a hint of curiousity... "Does it hurt?" Gaara asked.

"O-only a little..."

Gaara mentally slapped himself, where had that question come from? Of course she must feel, miserable? Even if she had said it only was a little. He hadn't felt too much pain before, but... He looked at her. She looked... distressed? He shook his head, this girl was probably waiting for him to leave. He watched her remove the hair clip from her hair, with her left hand. She had flinched a little, and pulled the thing quite forcefully... This girl had lied to him, he concluded, it hurt her like hell.

"Come." Gaara ordered.

"A-Ah?" Hinata asked.

"He broke your wrist didn't he? I'm taking you to the hospital." He said calmly.

That scared Hinata, a lot. He was trying to be nice with her, and all. But... he looked really scary. Last time he had... She shut her eyes, and preffered not to think about it again. The Sand Ninja sure looked determined anyways, he probably wouldn't take a no for an answer. Plus, it probably was the best she could do right now. Her hands hurt, and with Sasuke still around... She really felt that she had no choice. "O-Ok." She replied as she stood up and followed him.

"Phew, that was close." -Shikamaru sighed.- He had just witnessed the whole "fight". Shikamaru had followed the Uchiha around. Sasuke looked way too suspicious. When he heard Hinata cry in pain he was about to jump in, but when he saw Temari's scary brother... he labeled the whole thing as too troublesome. Besides, being a hero wasn't his kind of thing.

Read and Review! Please! Constructive criticism is appreciated.


	2. Chapter Two

CHAPTER 2

KONOHA HOSPITAL 10:00PM

OoO

Hinata sighed; she had arrived to the hospital quickly. She was now waiting for the doctor. Sabaku-san was also there, she looked at him, his arms were crossed and he was looking at a nearby window. She inwardly thanked the red head; at least she was safe now.

The door opened and Hinata shifted her attention to the door and the female doctor that had just entered the room. She looked like she was in her late forties and actually looked quite mad about something. The doctor slammed her bags to a nearby desk while she muttered something inaudible. She hastily unzipped her bag and took out a small stethoscope wrapped it on her neck and walked towards Hinata.

Hinata looked nervously at the doctor. This doctor was actually scaring her. "Please sit over here." The doctor pointed a bed nearby. Hinata hastily sat down. "So you say that you broke your wrist. Let me see it, then." Hinata raised her hand a little. The doctor examined it briefly. "It seems that your right wrist is only a bit dislocated. I'll put on an immobilizer so that you can avoid hurting your wrist and tendons. You'll be fine in a week or two." She finally declared.

Phew. - Hinata inwardly sighed. She was relieved, it was only dislocated. She'd be fine. Hinata watched as the doctor scribbled something hastily in her desk. Hinata could see the doctor was still mad about something, because she was gripping the pencil quite tightly.

Demo- She looked at her wrist, what excuse could she give Kurenai-sensei and Neji-nii-san? Her sensei would probably believe her, but Neji… Neji would notice her awkward behavior almost immediately. Neji-nii-san knew her better than anyone. But she couldn't tell Neji… It was all her fault, after all. She should've known Sasuke would be get upset if she wore it. Why did she always have to cause trouble? Her eyes watered a bit, as she fought to hold the tears back. Hinata looked at the Sand Nin; it wasn't fair to keep him waiting for her, either. She looked at his feet and bowed lightly: "Arigatou Sabaku-san, it's alright if you want to leave now. I'll be fine…"

Gaara looked at her one more time, nodded, and left the room.

Hinata heaved a sigh as the doctor approached her.

OoO

KONOHA ANNUAL FESTIVAL 10:30 PM

Ino entered the Ichiraku Ramen in a hurry. Looking at the stand for a while before approaching a certain Jounin. "Shikamaru! I can't find Hinata!" she looked distressed.

"Oi, Ino she's fine. I met her before she left." Shikamaru lied. It was too troublesome to explain things that even he couldn't understand.

" Ah…" She sighed relieved as she sat besides her two teammates.

"What would you like today Ino?" Ayame asked the blonde.

"Nothing really… I'm on a diet." Ino grinned.

Ayame looked at her disappointed.

"I see… so the baka genius kid is here, right?" A certain Sand Jounin interrupted the silence as she entered the Ramen Stand and looked around. Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji looked back at the loud jounin.

"Temari." Shikamaru sighed.

"Baka! Long time no see!" Temari grinned.

Ino watched the Sand Jounin curiously, as the blonde woman greeted Shikamaru. Hadn't she been the one that had beaten TenTen? The one Shikamaru had lost to?

"Chouji." Ino poked her teammate. "Isn't she that scary girl that beat TenTen?"

"Hai." Chouji whispered at Ino and bit his last potato chip.

Ino clenched her fists as she saw the Sand Nin get closer to Shikamaru. The Sand girl took a seat besides the young Nara and Naruto.

How dare she!- Ino's vein popped as she narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going to let that Sand Jounin get Shikamaru's attention. Ino tilted forward on her seat and glared at Temari intently. The Sand Jounin just shrugged and smirked.

Ino's eye twitched. So she really wanted war, huh? That Sand Jounin didn't know who she was messing with. Their eyes met again, both girls glaring at each other violently. -

"More!" Naruto smiled as he held his empty bowl up.

Ino took advantage of this situation, since everyone was already staring at Naruto's pile of empty ramen bowls. Not even Chouji's pile could compare to Naruto's. She smirked as she took hold of Shikamaru's left arm swiftly.

"Shikamaru, why don't we cross the bridge now?" Ino said in her sweetest voice as she made her famous, pleading, puppy eyes.

"Iie… Ino that'd be too troublesome." He declared as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nani?" She glared at Shikamaru, barely resisting the urge to break his neck.

Temari smirked as she fluttered her eyes. "Shikamaru, wouldn't you go with me?"

"Iie…" He declined. "Anyways Temari, what are you doing here?"

Temari almost fell from his seat. "Don't you know? The Test! The teamwork test!" she cried out loud.

"Teamwork test?" Naruto ears perked. "Ano-sa, Ano-sa What's that?"

"Baka!" Temari poked at Shikamaru. "Are you sure that all Konoha shinobis aren't bakas?"

Shikamaru sighed. "They're some test that Chuunins have to take in order to get promoted. Just like the Chuunin exam for Genins. The only difference is that your team will not consist of people from your same Village. They're chosen randomly. That's why it's called The Teamwork Test. To become a Jounin you must have superb Teamwork skills. You'll need to complete a month of missions to pass the first test; the second test consists of fighting together as a team and winning against other teams. After that, well you already know, the best of the best are chosen to be Jounins. "

"Yay! I'm going to be a Jounin soon!" Naruto shouted. "Ayame-chan, More!" Naruto pointed at the empty bowl.

"So, when is this test, Temari?" Sakura asked.

"Starting this Monday, they'll be assigning the teams. I'll be a Jounin Captain this year so Shikamaru, you better start praying that your team won't loose against mine." Temari grinned as she looked at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed…-So this was what Asuma-sensei had been bragging about all week. Asuma-sensei had been chosen to become the judge for the exam. How could he forget, he mentally slapped himself. He was also in this mess. That Old Lady Tsunade…. -

OoO

KONOHA HOSPITAL 11:00 PM

Hinata sat in the hospital bed. The doctor had ordered her to take some painkillers, and they were already making her feel drowsy. Thankfully, the hospital had agreed to let her stay for tonight. She smiled a bit; at least she wouldn't face Neji or Kurenai sensei, today. Hinata yawned as she removed her shoes. She laid on the bed and pulled the sheets up so that they covered her entirely. Her mind wandered for a bit… Would Naruto have noticed her if she stayed? She then shook her head remembering the incident. She suddenly felt very guilty, and decided it was better for her to sleep now. Yes, she'd better sleep now… Hinata closed her eyes.

OoO

KONOHA ANNUAL FESTIVAL – THE BAR 12:00 PM

"Kuso! Kankurou! You're too heavy!" Temari tried to get his brother to stand up. "I swear I'm never leaving you unattended again!"

Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji and Naruto laughed at Kankurou. Sakura just stood there sickened by the view.

Shikamaru sighed. -Kankurou really hadn't changed at all. He still had that love for strong liquor. Kankurou usually ended up like this, and Temari usually carried him around. Demo, it wasn't fair for a woman to carry a man around.-

"Here let me help." Shikamaru held his left arm, and Temari held Kankurou's right. Both pulled him up. "He's heavy; Oi haven't you ever told him that?" Shikamaru protested.

"Of course, I have!" Temari shouted back.

OoO

KONOHA HOSPITAL 1:00 A.M.

Uchiha Sasuke watched the sleeping girl. -Kuso! Would it be too risky to wake her up? Would she scream for help? He asked himself. He wanted to know, but if he got caught here he really didn't want to think the consequences. But, then again, this girl wasn't any girl. She probably wouldn't shout or scream for help. Her otou-san had taught her absolute obedience. He shuddered at the thought. Sasuke really never liked the old man. He treated Hinata like a mere object; Itachi had said that once too. He shook his head trying to forget what he had just said.-

Anyways, it was clear that Hinata wouldn't trouble or hurt other people. Sasuke shrugged… And he had never heard Hinata scream before, not even when they were kids. He took one step forward; if she tried to scream, he'd just cover her mouth.-

"Hinata" He whispered as he sat in the bed and shook her softly.

Hinata opened her eyes slowly, as she looked and recognized who had woken her up; she backed as far as she possibly could.

"Hinata, who gave that to you, answer me?" Sasuke moved closer.

"G-gomen, Gomen Sasuke-senpai…I…" She apologized. Hinata gripped the sheets tightly. Sasuke was too close.

"Just answer me." He whispered angrily as he activated the Sharingan. She closed her eyes as she backed trying to set some distance between them. "I-itachi…" she whispered.

"Give it to me." Sasuke demanded.

"I-ie…" She gathered her courage to whisper the single word.

"Give it to me." He demanded with his intimidating voice.

"Iie…" Hinata grabbed the ornament, which she had hidden under the pillow, and gripped it firmly. She wasn't going to let anyone have it, not even Sasuke.

"Baka!" he hissed. Sasuke grabbed her hand and attempted to retrieve the ornament. Hinata clutched it as hard as she could, but she was still no match for the angrier Uchiha. In no time he had the ornament in his hand and was looking at it. Sasuke, then, crushed the tiny object with his hand, walked towards the window and threw the shattered ornament.

Hinata widened her eyes as she felt her anger rise. _Her _hair clip, _her_ treasure, why had Sasuke done such a thing! She felt like crying and _she did_, but silently.

Sasuke looked at the girl one more time before leaving and giving a final warning: "Hinata, you shouldn't be dwelling in the past."

OoO

SASUKE'S APARTMENT 1:30 AM

"Kuso!" -That Itachi had really given it to her! Our family's treasure, our clan's pride…." The damn ornament was probably worth more than the entire Uchiha estate. That damn thing reminded him of his family. He smirked, but it was over now, the one thing that represented Itachi's will in Konoha… He had crushed it; Sasuke wanted everything his brother had possessed destroyed. That object was the last thing on his list. He never expected Hinata to have it and protect it. Demo, even if Hinata had admitted that Itachi had given it to her, there was still a question that plaguing his mind. Why? If he was going to leave; why not sell the damn thing? Why give it to Hinata, if you were going to slay the whole clan? If he recalled correctly, both of them had both received their heirlooms one week before the Uchiha tragedy…. -

OoO

"_Kaa-san!" Sasuke smiled at his mother and tugged her kimono. They were going out to celebrate Itachi's promotion to an ANBU captain. His father had picked a quiet and expensive restaurant to celebrate. Sasuke looked at his father, who was leading the family towards the restaurant, and then looked at Itachi who was behind the family. Sasuke really wanted his nii-san and his otou-san to speak to each other again, and Sasuke had a feeling this could be the night. _

_They followed the waiter towards the private room that her mother had reserved a few days earlier. His otou-san sat down and ordered their meals, without even waiting for the rest of the family. Itachi took the seat furthest from his father and glared at his father when he sat down. Sasuke and his mother sat down silently. Tension filled the room when the waiter left. The uncomfortable silence was interrupted by his mother, a few moments later. _

"_Itachi, your father and I are very proud of your accomplishments." She said smiling. "Being the captain of ANBU at such a young age… Itachi, congratulations." _

_Itachi nodded at this comment as Sasuke crossed his arms. Her mother smiled again as she brought her hands up to her neatly arranged hair bun, and pulled her two elaborate and identical hair clips. Sasuke watched as her long, black hair reached her waist. Sasuke loved her mother's long hair. _

"_Itachi, Sasuke I want you to have these." She spoke as she handed them the ornaments. Itachi took his gift and examined it. Sasuke mimicked his brother's actions. _

"_I was going to wait until you two were older, but it seems that you two have grown so much..." She smiled. "It's the Uchiha clan's heirloom; I expect both of you to give it to your wives just like your father did." She looked at his husband and smiled. _

"_Itachi-nii-san? Are you going to give it to Hinata?" Sasuke looked at his brother. _

"_Not yet. I'll give it to her when she's older." Itachi spoke for the first and last time that night. _

OoO

"Kuso!" Sasuke clenched his fists. -He never expected Hinata to wear the damn thing, and much less protect it. Demo, did she still like Itachi? It had always angered him; when they were little Hinata would always prefer Itachi. He tightened his fists again. Why, why did she prefer Itachi? No matter how hard he tried to get her attention, she always looked at Itachi first. Even, when Itachi had left… She was already interested in someone else… that dobe… Uzumaki Naruto. -

OoO

SUNDAY KONOHA HOSPITAL

"Hinata-sama? Daijoubou?" Neji asked.

"Hai, Neji-nii-san…" She smiled.

"Are you sure, you're alright Hinata?" TenTen interrupted.

"You sure don't look to well." Lee commented.

"Um… Hai, I'm fine. The doctor says it's only dislocated, I'll be fine in a week or two. " She forced herself to smile a little. She really didn't want to tell anyone about it... Why had he? She tried to keep her tears from falling.

"Hinata-sama…" Neji said sternly.

Hinata looked down in shame; she already knew what he was going to say. Neji could read her like an open book. Even without using his Byakugan, Neji was an expert reading people's feelings.

"If Hiashi-sama knew about this, he wouldn't be too happy with it." Neji looked at Hinata who said nothing. "Hinata-sama you must tell me… who did this to you?"

Lee and TenTen looked at each other not believing what Neji had just said. Nobody would want to hurt Hinata, right?

"Neji-nii-san, please don't tell otou-san about this, onegai." Hinata pleaded. "If otou-san knew he might…"

"Hinata-sama, I see you haven't learned… You are still too compassionate." Neji shook his head and sighed. "If that is what you really want Hinata-sama, I have no choice but to comply."

"Arigatou, Neji-nii-san." She looked up at her cousin.

"I guess Hinata won't be able to participate in the upcoming Jounin exam." Lee looked at her.

"The next Jounin exam…" Hinata looked at Lee. -Was that why Sabaku-san was here?-Hinata wondered.

Cough- Lee called for everyone's attention. He always liked to explain things like this. "Well, we're supposed to be paired with the Shinobis from the Sand and do missions with them for a month. Then the best teams are supposed to fight against each other." He paused. "Now that you will no longer be my team mate, I can fight without holding back. I can't wait! I'm going to beat you this time Neji." Lee said happily.

Neji scoffed and shook his head and TenTen shrugged.

"I want to participate too." Hinata spoke up.

"Hinata-sama, don't be foolish. You can't move your right hand." Neji looked at her wrist immobilizer.

"I-ie, I'll be fine, nii-san. I'll be ok in a week or two. It's not like my wrist is broken or anything." Hinata looked at her nii-san. "I can still move my left hand."

"Hinata-sama, please stop trying to be brave." Neji said.

"Gomen, Neji-nii-san but this is something I must do." Hinata spoke unwaveringly.

"Hinata-sama." He sighed and shook his head. Hinata smiled widely.

OoO

MONDAY

KONOHA HOKAGE'S ANNOUNCEMENT –THE TRAINING BEGINS-

The rookie nine and Gai's team minus the now Jounin Shikamaru looked at the seven Sand Nins in front of them. They were all positioned in front of each other. Hinata looked at the Sand Nins they were few but they all looked very strong and intimidating. She didn't dare to look at the older sand shinobis; but she could feel the glares that they were giving them. She looked at Gaara and Kankurou for a moment before looking away; even though they were the youngest shinobis, they still seemed to be the strongest from the sand village.

The Hokage and the Konoha and Sand jounins arrived. The Konoha jounins and the Sand Jounin walked towards their students and positioned themselves in front of them. The Hokage began her announcement hastily: "Alright, So, I guess most of you probably know about this exam. So I'll be brief. There are six teams; each must participate in special missions assigned for a month. The teams that have the highest level of efficiency will compete against each other. Those that are considered the best will be ascended to a jounin level. Baki-sama, Shizune… if you would do me the favor. The Hokage pointed at the boxes. The teams will be picked out randomly. You'll have to pick a paper from that box. Take a step forward when we call your number.

Hinata watched as they all took a paper from the little brown box. After a few moments. Shizune passed by her, she picked a paper from the box, and looked at the number… three. -She was going to be in team number three; she wondered who else was in team three. Hinata hoped Naruto or Neji would be on her team this time, but if she got Sasuke…. She'd consider retiring right away. She looked at the Sand Nins, considering their numbers… five teams would have one sand shinobi, and the last team would consist of two sand shinobis and one Konoha shinobi. She really hoped she got Kankurou or Gaara; the other Sand Chuunins were old and scary. - Her thoughts were interrupted as the last in each line picked the remaining paper from the box.

"Ok." Tsunade called for their attention.

"Team 1.Your Jounin captain will be Kakashi" Sasuke, Neji, and Kankurou took a step forward. Hinata smiled relieved. –At least she wasn't going to be with Sasuke. –

"Team Two. Your Jounin Captain will be Temari." Ino, Shino, and a Female Sand Nin stepped forward. Ino glared at Temari.

"Team Three Your Jounin Captain will be Shikamaru…"Hinata swallowed hard as she stepped forward and looked at her other companions…. Naruto, who was smiling widely and Gaara, who had crossed his arms, Hinata smiled at them.

"Team Four Your Jounin Captain will be Gai." Lee, Chouji and a mean looking sand shinobi stepped forward. Lee and Gai showed their traditional nice guy pose to everyone. Chouji looked depressed; he was going to exercise….

"Team Five your Jounin Captain will be Kurenai." Kiba, Sakura and a blacked haired Sand Nin stepped forward, while Sakura sighed loudly.

"Team Six Your Jounin Captain will be Baki." The remaining Sand Nins and TenTen stood up." Everyone noticed TenTen's sad look.

"You're dismissed." Tsunade took a look at all the teams and began to walk away.

"HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto smiled. "I'm glad we're on the same team."

Hinata blushed. "Hai Naruto-kun." She looked at the ground as one of her feet began to move in a circular motion. She widened her smile a bit.

"Oi, this sure is troublesome." Shikamaru interrupted and then smiled. "However, I do think I have the strongest team out there."

"Yay!" Naruto jumped happily in his spot. "This time I'm going to beat Sasuke for sure."

"Demo, I must remind you that teamwork is an important part of this test." Shikamaru looked at Naruto.

"Hai. Shikamaru-sensei!" Naruto laughed. Hinata smiled at Shikamaru who upon seeing her smile, smiled at the comment too.

"Oi, you sure are troublesome." Shikamaru shook his head.

Gaara approached them after a few moments. "Gaara let's beat them!" Naruto asked his huge smile still plastered in his face.

"Hn…" The red-haired said emotionlessly.

Shikamaru and Hinata looked at each other curiously and grinned. With these two on the team and her Byakugan, there was no way that they would loose. She smiled inwardly, she was very lucky to have gotten such an exceptional team.

OoO

"Ano-sa, Ano-sa, let me see the list!" Naruto tried to peak at the papers Shikamaru was carrying.

"Iie… That would be too troublesome." Shikamaru stopped Naruto from reading the papers as he examined them quietly. "Let's see, your first mission… comes from your previous sensei, Naruto."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's eyes twinkled in anticipation. Gaara and Hinata just stood there watching Shikamaru announce the rest of the mission.

"Oi, it seems he paid extra for it too!" Shikamaru said.

"Really! What is it?" Naruto looked anxious and rubbed his hands together.

"It seems that he wants you to walk his dogs." Shikamaru said calmly.

"Nani?" Naruto exploded and brought his arms to his forehead. "I hate those dogs!"

"Oi, how boring… Naruto, let's get this done before it gets late." Shikamaru sighed and began to walk.

Hinata looked at the discouraged Naruto and then at the silent Gaara. Gaara eyed her right arm, even though she had covered her wrist immobilizer with her jacket, it still seemed to be obvious. She blushed, she never liked attention. Naruto began to walk slowly and she followed with Gaara tagging along. It looked like her teammates wouldn't enjoy the mission at all.

OoO

Hinata carried Pak-kun with her left arm. She could understand Naruto now; Kakashi's dogs were extremely pampered. Especially, the small Pak-kun that she was carrying, right now. She giggled. He had asked for ice cream, some treats, two bottles of shampoo, a conditioner, a bottle of perfume, some massaging, and a walk on the park… She looked back at Naruto, Gaara and the young Nara. Gaara and Naruto walked three dogs each; the dogs that Naruto was walking dragged him all over the place while he shouted at them; while the dogs Gaara walked looked too scared to try anything. Shikamaru had his hands in the back of his head and looked at the clouds as he smiled.

She had been extra lucky to have such a good jounin-captain. Shikamaru had forbidden Hinata from walking the larger troublesome dogs. He probably knew about her wrist, not every jounin captain would have done that. Not saying that she wasn't thankful that Gaara and Naruto didn't complain about it.

As Hinata looked around she noticed Neji pulling some weeds from a nearby garden. "Neji-nii-san!" She waved happily as she stood from the other side of the small fence.

"Hinata-sama. Is your arm hurting you?" He stood up and cleaned his hands a bit by rubbing them.

"Iie. Neji-nii-san." Hinata smiled. She was very happy with her new team. "How's your new team?" she asked.

"It's fine, they're giving pretty easy missions though." Neji pointed at the dog Hinata held.

"Hai." She giggled and looked back at her other teammates who were still quite far away.

"Hyuuga. You better not be slacking off." A threatening voice behind her interrupted their conversation. Hinata widened her eyes when she saw the younger Uchiha there. She clenched her fists a little, but her legs shook in fear.

Neji noticed this, but said nothing. Instead he glared at the Uchiha and began to pull weeds again.

Hinata slowly backed away not daring to look at Sasuke in the eye. She didn't want to see him, ever. Why had he done it? It belonged to her after all… Itachi, Itachi had given it to her. She stared at the ground intently, her frown perceptible.

"Oi, Hinata! We finally caught up!" Shikamaru breathed heavily. Gaara and Naruto were running there too. Well, more like Gaara was walking hastily, though.

"Shikamaru… why did you begin to…?" Naruto heaved. "Bastard!" He suddenly said pointing at Sasuke. "This time I will beat you! Mark my words I will become Hokage."

"Che." Sasuke scoffed.

Hinata backed away and hid behind her teammates. Gaara glared at Sasuke evilly, while Shikamaru stared at Sasuke, a little less intently.

Neji stopped and looked at Shikamaru and the Sand Nin, so… they knew too? That Uchiha, he closed his fists, he'd get him when the time was right. No one should mess with the Hyuugas, much less with Hinata.

Gaara looked at Hinata from the corner of his eyes while still glaring at the Uchiha.

Sasuke scoffed again. Naruto, who still hadn't noticed their weird actions, still smiled proudly.

"Oi, Gaki! Let's go." Pak-kun ordered.

"Osu! Pak-kun" Naruto laughed as he pat Pak-kun's head with his semi-free hand. Hinata blushed. "Ano-sa, Ano-sa, will you let me touch your paws Pak-kun?" he asked.

" Iie…. Your hands are dirty." Hinata grinned at the dog's comment.

"Hmph…" Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Gaara were still behind glaring at the Uchiha. After a few moments, Shikamaru followed Naruto and Hinata; Gaara followed later. The sand Nin glared back as he barely noticed Sasuke's clenching and unclenching fist.

End of Chapter 2….

Yes, I know… It seems like a Shikamaru x Hinata now… But they're just really good friends. I have a draft of Chapter 3 right now, so hopefully I'll be posting it next week. Sasuke and Gaara get a bigger role in the next chapter. Thanks for your reviews! Please Review this chapter too!

Response to Reviewers

Fractured wings 01: Thank you so much! I love your story. Oh, Sasuke x Hinata moments will come in chapter 4, so you have to be a bit patient.

Love Squared: Thanks for the idea! I'll definitely think about it!

Epuneyujah: I hope this chapter answers some of your questions Itachi will appear in the later… though

Ah-choo: Yep, he's kinda OOC. But I can't help it… thanks for your review!

candy44: Yes, they're kinda OOC, see above…. -Smiles.-

Bishounenchaser: Sighs… Thanks for your review!

Littlesilverflower: Thanks!

shikaruTo: Thank you so much! This is actually my second story and I wasn't feeling that confident.

Newblue: Itachi x Hinata is my favorite pairing, but I like sasuhina and Gaahinas too, so I couldn't help it. -Smiles.- Thanks for your review.

chinadoll27: Thanks!

MDJ: Thanks, I'm not a fast writer, but I'll try my best. :P

SanuYukiAi Gaara: Thanks! I love long reviews. Anyways, you'll have to wait to see who Hinata stays with.

Lady SilveRose: Thanks for adding me to your favorites…

khmer shinobi: Thanks for adding me to your favorites, Hinata is one of my favorite characters too…

sakuraharuno21: Um… Yes, I'm evil... -Smirks- Thanks.

Xoni Newcomer: Well, I tried to make him more like the Gaara that helps Lee.

Gaahina chan: Thanks! I love your gaahinas stories! Ah! Soy de latinoamerica asi que tambien hablo espanol como tu… Tus fanfics son increíbles!

Scented Candles: Oh my god! I love your story! Thanks for the long review!

sgt.crackers: Well they're supposed to get married when Hinata's eighteen. I forgot to mention it.

Shanice Miharu: Thank you! Thanks for saying that my characters aren't OOC.

BAKAmew: Hope you like this chapter!

BadSam: Thank you!

mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY: Thanks! I hope you like this chapter!


	3. Chapter Three

Broken Promise Chapter 3

SEVEN DAYS LATER

"Ano-sa, Shikamaru! What's the next mission on the list?" Naruto flashed his foxy grin while he walked. His two teammates shifted their attention to their jounin captain in anticipation of his answer. This was their eighth day of training, and they walked slowly through the village.

Surprisingly their last week of training had gone smoothly.- Hinata thought as she looked at her immobilizer and moved her hand a little. -The missions that the Hokage was assigning were easy B, C, and D ranked missions, so the training hadn't been much of a problem for them. Maybe the Hokage was waiting until the end to assign the difficult missions?- She guessed as she watched Naruto try to take a peek at Shikamaru's papers.

" Iie… No peeking Naruto." The jounin captain placed his index finger on Naruto's forehead, without even looking at the blonde kid. Hinata giggled; although, this had been a routine for the past seven days. She watched as Naruto looked away angrily and Gaara crossed his arms. All of them awaited "eagerly" for their jounin captain's orders…

"Oi…. The cat's gone missing again." Shikamaru said as his right hand reached his forehead.

All four sighed. They had repeated this mission at least three times this week. Hinata watched Gaara and smiled, he looked so funny when he sighed. Meanwhile, Naruto was pouting over the mission and it looked as if all his energy had been drained at that moment. She could understand them. Even Gaara, was actually tired of having to look for the cat in Konoha. Hinata blushed a little when the Sand Nin looked back at her. Then, Naruto looked at them both curiously.

"How troublesome!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Boring too… ne? Let's get this over fast." He said as he walked faster.

"Ano-sa! Gaara, Hinata, Shikamaru! Let's go then!" Naruto said loudly pointing at someplace in the distance. The two boys heaved a loud sigh and decided to ignore Naruto's obnoxious behavior for now. However, Hinata was really another matter…

"Hai." She replied and blushed as he tagged besides Naruto.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her as the white eyed girl who began to follow Naruto. Then, he watched as Shikamaru yawned and began to walk in his usual slow pace… and thus, having no choice he decided to follow them too.

OOo

Two Hours Later

"Has any of you found anything yet?" Shikamaru asked Gaara and Hinata. They had agreed to separate and search around the village in order to find the cat faster. But, unfortunately for Shikamaru, only Gaara and Hinata were there.

"I-ie." Hinata said. Gaara shook his head.

"How troublesome. Where's Naruto?" Shikamaru asked and looked around.

"Slacking off." Gaara replied coldly as he crossed his arms. His eyes shifted to a nearby corner.

"I-ie! Gaara I wasn't slacking off! I was just talking to Sakura-chan!" Naruto interrupted his teammate while shouting loudly and blushing a little.

Gaara scoffed at the late shinobi. "You big slacker."

"Ano-sa Shikamaru! I was asking Sakura-chan if she had seen the cat. I wasn't slacking off." He explained nervously and blushed again.

Hinata stared at the ground. But her temporary unhappiness was cut off by Shikamaru's voice. She looked up to hear what her dear captain had to say.

Shikamaru sighed. "We'll have to check the outskirts of the village to find the cat this time. That troublesome cat…-sigh- "I'll go that way." He pointed to the north. "Gaara, take the east." He pointed to his right. "Hinata take the west." He pointed to his left. Finally, Naruto, you take the south. And, Naruto -he paused- no slacking off this time."

The three chuunins nodded at him and quickly parted ways.

OoO

Hinata looked at her watch; she had been searching for 20 minutes now. However, she had already reached the border of the village… She wouldn't be allowed to go farther without a special permit, not that she intended to go there-anyways.- She sat down resting her head against a nearby tree and sighed. As much as she tried to forget it, the image kept coming back. Why would Naruto blush every time he said Sakura-chan? Why did Naruto like Sakura? -She heaved a deep sigh- Who was she fooling? Who wouldn't like Sakura? She was smart, pretty and confident too.

That's why Naruto likes Sakura, and he would only like me as a friend. Hinata realized as she raised her hand to her chest. It hurt to admit the truth, but she would do it from time to time. She cried a little, as she always felt much better when she had shed her tears.

She stood up slowly, after this she'd go see Neji. Her cousin was the only person who could probably cheer her up right now. He always made her feel better, even if he was really harsh at times. Hinata knew that he only did it for her own good. "Much better!" she smiled, remembering her dear cousin. She'd better stop wasting time, if she wanted to arrive in time.

Hinata began to stride, but was interrupted by a soft purr. She looked up to the place where the sound had come from… the cat! She jumped a bit happily. She had found the troublesome feline! But, she sighed as she looked at the tall tree… There was no way she could reach the cat by jumping or performing any jutsu. She couldn't gather any chakra in her feet either, because she could barely move her wrist.

Hinata pulled her jacket sleeves up, and looked at the tall tree. The only way she could think of recovering the cat right now was climbing the tree. She looked at the tall tree determined. She'd climb this tree for Neji and Kurenai-sensei, those that truly cared for her. She'd prove the rest of the world and Naruto that she was strong. She began to walk towards the tree, while the cat above looked at her curiously.

"Baka! You'll hurt yourself even more." A voice behind her hissed.

" Eh?" Hinata looked back to see him. "A-a-ah, G-gomen, Go-men, Sasuke-san." She bowed her head nervously. Had he been watching her all this time? She shuddered at the thought.

"Che." He scoffed. "You shouldn't apologize for everything." The Uchiha looked at the cat above and in a blink of an eye, brought it down in his arms.

"Here." He shoved the cat in her arms. She took the cat nervously and smiled a little.

oOo

He glared at her for a while. Kuso! Her smile…Why was she the only one that could make him feel this way? He even felt guilty; he looked at Hinata's wrist immobilizer, which was now visible. Even, if he hated to admit it… He had liked Hinata from the day that he first saw her. He still hated himself for being so weak and letting some foolish emotions rule his life. But why had he hurt her then? Was it because he had always been jealous that she paid more attention to Itachi? Or was it because he had hated her? He paused his thoughts for a moment and clenched his fists.

He had been mad at her, mad at her for liking Itachi, even if he was no longer part of this village; he had been mad at her for believing in Itachi, even though for doing that he considered her foolish; and he had been mad at her for wearing his family's treasured hair pin. However…

Did he hate her?- He asked himself again. Iie, he could never hate her… Even as much as he wanted to… Even as much as these feelings disgusted him to no end… he couldn't. He looked at her again and began to walk away.

OoO

"Ari-Arigatou, Sasuke-san." She said as she watched her leave. She looked at him, still surprised that he had actually helped her.

Sasuke had helped her, after… Well, after that incident. Maybe he wasn't mad at her? She inwardly sighed, relieved. Or maybe he had helped her because he felt guilty for hurting her? The silent Hyuuga felt a strange happy sensation on her chest as she watched him go. She desperately wanted to believe that her childhood best friend hadn't changed.

OoO

"Gaara-san! Shikamaru-san!" Hinata waved at the two men standing at Ichiraku Ramen. She ran towards her companions. "I found the cat." She proudly declared.

"Oi, Hinata! Why so happy?" Shikamaru looked at her curiously.

"W-well, I- Um…" She blushed, why was she so happy, anyways?

"It doesn't matter. You've found the cat. Let's go deliver it to Old Lady Inoue." Shikamaru grinned.

"Demo, Naruto-kun…" Hinata looked around for Naruto.

"He's late as always." Gaara replied as he began to follow Shikamaru.

"Ok." She bit her lip and followed them.

OoO

"My Cat!" An old chubby woman hugged –choked- her cat violently.

"Arigatou! Here's your pay." She handed Shikamaru a sealed envelope. As soon as the envelope was in his hands Shikamaru hastily left with Gaara tagging along. Hinata, who considered it rude not to thank her benefactor, bowed and stuttered an Arigatou before leaving.

"I think, I feel sorry for the poor thing." Gaara commented when they were far from Old Lady Inoue's sight.

Shikamaru and Hinata looked at each other surprised. They smiled a bit.

"Gaara-san, I feel sorry for the poor thing too." She giggled and looked at Shikamaru. She bit her lip as a she thought a little; she was planning on spending the evening with her cousin. But, since her teammates had the rest of the evening left, she mustered her courage; maybe she could ask them instead. "U-um…Gaara-san, Shikamaru-san…Why don't we drink some tea at ? My treat, of course." She swallowed nervously.

Shikamaru smiled at her approvingly, but before he could say something he was cut off by Gaara's voice.

"Why?" The Sand Nin asked calmly.

"Well, you two seem to be helping me a lot." She blushed and looked at the ground. "So it's my way of saying thank you." She silently awaited their answer.

"You blush a lot." He commented with no apparent interest in his voice. Hinata took his strange reply as a _yes._

"Oi, Gaara don't be so rude!" Shikamaru pat Gaara's back casually. The Sand Shinobi glared at him furiously.

OoO

The two shinobis and the shy Hyuuga sat in a table close in the corner of the tea shop. They has already asked for their tea. Shikamaru had settled for some green tea, while Gaara and Hinata had settled for some jasmine tea. Mmm… She smelled her cup of tea.

Her favorite, and Itachi's favorite too… Demo, Sasuke really loathed tea and anything sweet. She could clearly remember Sasuke's face every time he saw tea. Sasuke really hated dumplings too, she recalled. A slight blush colored her pale face. How had she gone from being sad into happy? She sighed inwardly; she hadn't been much of herself lately, anyways. She watched her companions as they drank their tea and enjoyed the silence. The place was empty, aside from their table.

"Oi, how troublesome." Shikamaru groaned. "I have to find Naruto, before we file in these papers for the Hokage." The jounin stood up. "Arigatou Hinata, I'll be back in a few minutes, you two wait for me while I go get him. I think I might have an idea where he might be."

"Hai, Shikamaru-san." She said and looked up.

Gaara glared at his captain in his usual stoic stance. Shikamaru left the place sighing, and muttering some comment about Naruto. Hinata bit her lip, now she was completely alone with Gaara? "U-um, do you like Jasmine Tea Sabaku-san?" She tried to interrupt the awkward silence.

"I-ie…" He replied calmly.

"Eh? Demo? Why did you ask for it?" She asked a little curious, then realizing it wasn't the best thing to do.

"I felt like it. " He shrugged.

"Ah... Gomen…. Forgive my impertinence. Sabaku-san." She bowed.

"You also apologize too much." He remarked.

" Ah…." She laughed sheepishly. "It seems to be one of my older habits."

"Hn."

OoO

Ino inwardly sighed. Kuso! Why did she have to get this jounin captain, even Maito Gai would have been much, much better. Temari didn't even allow breaks, and she would make them run for miles, at times. Even Asuma-sensei wouldn't be that cruel! Shannaro! She hated her! She passed by her favorite tea shop and caught a glimpse of a familiar person.

"Hey, baka!" Ino pulled Temari back. "Isn't that your brother over there?"

"Don't be stupid." She scoffed. "Gaara loathes tea."

"Really?" Ino smiled widely while she pointed. "Then, who's that?"

"G-gaara?" Temari stuttered and stood there for a while.

"Demo. You just said he hated tea?" Ino inwardly laughed at Temari. "Um… Shino isn't that Hinata over there?"

"Hai." He looked at his former teammate. "I'm going to go greet her." Shino said as he walked away.

Ino raised her eyebrow. -What was Hinata doing with Gaara? Boy, Hinata had a weird taste, when it came to guys. She looked at Temari and her other teammate, Kentaro, who really, really looked surprised.

"Temari! Kentaro!" Kankurou approached his sister. "Whatcha looking at?"

"Baka. Look at that." Temari pointed towards a specific table.

"N-nani? Is that Gaara?" Kankurou sweatdropped.

"Who else does he look like, baka!" Temari hit his brother's head.

Ino scoffed. –That Temari, hadn't she mistaken him as well? Shannaro!-

Temari shot one of her own death glares at Ino.

"Kankurou-sama, Temari-sama." Kentaro interrupted. "Why don't we leave before Gaara sees us?" He asked politely.

Ino looked at her teammate.- Jeez, were all Sand Nins this scared of that guy? She looked at Kentaro; he was like twice Gaara's age. Baka Sand Nins, she narrowed her eyes. She then saw Neji, Sasuke and Kakashi approach. "Sasuke-kun!" She waved.

"Crap. They're already here. So much for a rest." Kankurou sighed.

"Oi, Kankurou why did you stop?" Hatake Kakashi said as he walked pass the group without glancing at them. He walked slowly while reading his book. "You still have ten laps to go, Kankurou." Kakashi said uninterested as he flipped a page.

"Eh... Sensei… I was just talking to my sister, ne?" Kankurou rubbed the back of his head as he explained.

"Oh, Eh… Hai, he was just talking to me, is that alright?" Temari grinned forcefully.

"Hai, Hai, Hai." Kakashi shrugged and continued to walk and read his book.

"Jeez, Kankurou!" Temari whispered noticing the cover of the book. "Doesn't your sensei ever get bored of reading the same stuff?"

Kankurou frowned a little. Meanwhile, Neji and Sasuke stopped a little before following their sensei. "Ano-sa, why don't we rest a little before continuing our training?" Kankurou suggested at his two companions.

Sasuke scoffed and Neji glared.

"Sasuke-kun! Kawaii!" Ino smiled dreamily.

"Baka!" Temari turned back and glared at her subordinate.

"Why you!" Ino reached for Temari's neck. "Sasuke-kun, where are you going?" Ino sweat dropped as she watched him ignore her and casually enter the tea shop.

OoO

"Hinata." The Hyuuga felt a light tap on her shoulder. She looked back.

"Shino-kun!" Hinata smiled, Shino was like an older brother for her. "Anou, where are your teammates Shino-kun? Are you here alone?"

"Iie." He pointed to a group of people outside.

"I see. So… you wouldn't mind if I asked you to join us?" Hinata asked.

"Iie. They'll probably be there for a long time too." He said as he took a seat besides Hinata.

"Um…Gaara-san, this is my former teammate Aburame, Shino. " Hinata said as she noticed Gaara's I Don't Trust You glare.

Both boys glowered at each other for a while, until Hyuuga Hinata cleared her throat.

"Um… Shino so have you seen Kiba and Akamaru, yet?"

"Iie."

"I see."

"Um… Shino so how's your team?" Hinata asked curiously, hoping that she would break the tension between those two.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji asked as he recognized his cousin's voice.

"Neji-nii-san?" She looked back and saw her nii-san and Sasuke. Sasuke glared at her angrily. She swallowed hard as she muttered a few words. "Um, Neji-nii-san? S-Sasuke-san, if you would like to join us too…"

"Iie…" Sasuke declined her offer in an offensive tone and walked away.

"Hinata-sama, Forgive me." Neji clenched his fist and looked at her for a while. He, then, followed his partner.

"Sasuke-kun? Oi, where are you going?" Ino asked curiously.

Sasuke ignored her and glared at her rudely. "Stop annoying me."

Ino blinked once, twice, before her eyes got teary. Temari suddenly felt very sorry for the poor girl.

"Ino, Temari?" Shikamaru approached the two blonde females. "Temari? What happened to Ino?" Shikamaru asked concerned.

"It's nothing Shikamaru." Ino wiped her tears with her sleeves. Ino tried to deny her sadness.

"If you say so, Ino." He walked towards the tea shop and lifted the curtains and peeked in. "Hinata, Gaara. We're leaving." The two teammates looked back at their leader.

"Shikamaru-san, Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked at Shikamaru concerned.

"He's fine…" Shikamaru grinned. "Gaara, Hinata…" He sighed. "Koi."

"Um… Hai." Hinata stood up. "Shino-kun, gomen, for leaving you alone." She bowed at Shino. He nodded approvingly. Gaara scoffed and stood up.

Shikamaru looked at his two subordinates as they walked towards an unknown destination. "As you know, the jounin exam is three weeks away. All we've been doing so far is practicing the essentials. Most of the other teams are already practicing their special jutsus. We're a bit behind the others." The rookie jounin stated seriously.

"Hai." Hinata agreed.

"I think the battles with other teams will be easy. However, there is one team that bothers me." Shikamaru continued.

"Team One." Gaara interrupted.

"Hai, Team one consists of two of the village's strongest geniuses and a very powerful Sand Nin. However, I have been watching a few of their practices and their teamwork skills won't be able to match ours. They're all accustomed to fight alone." He paused. "That is their weakness, and we must take advantage of it."

"B-but, how?" Hinata stuttered and played a little with her fingers. "I'm not sure that I can be of any use..." She looked down briefly.

"Iie!" Shikamaru smiled. "Hinata you'll be our trump card!"

"Trump Card?" Hinata looked at Shikamaru disbelievingly. No one had _ever_ said that she was a trump card.

"What's your Plan?" Gaara asked as he looked at Shikamaru curiously.

"Well, Hinata might not have as much skill using tai jutsus..."

Hinata frowned.

"And it's a fact that she's no genius either."

Hinata looked down at his comment.

"However." He smirked. "She's one of the most talented medical-nin in the village, and her Byakugan will come in handy."

She smiled shyly.

Gaara looked at Shikamaru. "What do you mean?"

"Gaara, I don't think you will have a hard time against Kankurou. Since Neruto will be occupied with Sasuke, you will have to fight against Neji. However, Neji Hyuuga won't be an easy opponent, since he can demolish anything that is formed by Chakra. If he gets too close to you… Your sand defense will be useless." He stated seriously.

Gaara scoffed at this.

"That's where Hinata comes in. I want Hinata to help you train. Since both Neji and Hinata use the same kind of technique, it'll be easy for you to see the advantages and disadvantages you have against Neji. Try to train as much as possible."

"Hn…"

"Hinata." Shikamaru looked at her.

"I understand." Hinata nodded at her captain.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto waved at them from the Famous Ichiraku Ramen.

OoO

The angry Uchiha sat in his room, and an unopened dusty old box lay in front of him. Sasuke took the box, hesitantly, and ripped the protective tape that sealed it. He examined its contents for a while before finding an old photo album. He looked at the cover curiously. This used to be his; it was probably filled with some of his pictures. He opened the album and examined two particular pictures in the first page. The first photo was a picture of his family, the second, of his childhood friend at the academy. He took the latter and carefully removed it from the album, before closing it. He watched it silently.

They were children back then. The young Hinata and Sasuke sat by each other happily in the picture. Hinata smiled shyly and a small blush could be seen in her cheeks. He, on the other hand, reminded himself of Naruto; he had a wide smile and his left arm was on Hinata's shoulder.

But…-he smirked evilly as he walked and hid the picture in his drawer. Then, Sasuke returned to search the contents of the box…- that wasn't exactly what he was looking for…

OWARI! Review Please!

mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY: Thanks for your review! I really can't decide who I like better for Hinata either… I love pairing Hinata with them all.

Magy: Another Itachi fan! Yay! Thanks for your review. Itachi will appear later.

DeityofRoses: Thanks!

Xoni Newcomer: Thanks for your review! It's just that Gaar is so hard too write. I may do his point of view later on.

Newblue: Thanks for your review! Yeah Sasuke's such a meanie, poor Hinata.

AnimeBeauty: Thanks for your review!

windwhisprer: Thanks for your review, too!

ayumi-dono: Thanks. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Shanice Miharu: I understand what you mean. I hate when Sakura or Ino fight about Sasuke. :( Thanks for your review!

BAKAmew: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

shikaruTo: Thanks! I love Shikamaru too. Um… yes I really don't want to spoil chapter four, but I can tell you it will have a lot of Sasuhina moments.

Kazezero: I love your review, it's so long... If you're an Itahina fan I'd like to recommend a good fanfic. It's written in French, but an online translator will do the trick. It's called Une Pacte avec Diable.

Kyuubi PandoraChan: Thanks for your review! Sighs. It's true there's so few Gaahinas out there. I love your story and your page too!


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Sugoi! Shikamaru! You sure came up with a good plan this time!" Naruto laughed loudly, causing a few people around to give the team some glares.

"Hai, T-that is a good strategy. Shikamaru-san." Hinata blushed when she noticed that her companions were staring back at her. Hinata nervously brought her hand to her mouth.

Shikamaru smiled and looked at the sky. "Heh. Just because I came with a good plan doesn't mean that you're going to win. Battles are often unpredictable. We don't know their plan for sure, anyways." He shrugged.

"There's nothing to worry about Shikamaru! I'll beat them up and become Hokage!" Naruto said unwaveringly, while Hinata smiled and Gaara scoffed rudely.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and pat Naruto's head. Hinata laughed a little as Naruto crossed his arms in a child-like manner. "We'll be starting the real training next week, since you still haven't recovered, Hinata. Is that ok?"

"Hai, Arigatou Shikamaru-san." She bowed politely.

"Ano-sa! Shikamaru?" Naruto interrupted at Hinata and Shikamaru. "Let's go eat! I'm hungry!" He pointed his growling stomach.

OoO

THIRD WEEK PRE-JOUNIN EXAM

"Hinata, Gaara begin." Shikamaru announced as he leaned on a tree and set his watch. Today was their first day of _real_ training. He sighed and watched both opponents. The outcome of this match was _obvious_. He just wanted to see Hinata's abilities, for now. The Hyuuga's low voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hai." She said as she activated her Byakugan by performing the seals. She separated her legs and brought her hands up. Hinata wasted no time on positioning herself in the Hyuuga fighting stance, Shikamaru glanced at the Hyuuga.

"Come, Gaara-san." Hinata said as Gaara looked at her emotionless. He shrugged as his sand began to fly out of his gourd. The sand aimed for her and she dodged barely… -That sand was fast… Faster than most of her movements.- Shikamaru thought as he looked at Hinata. She continued to dodge Gaara's attacks.

"Hinata! You're doing fine! Beat him up!" Naruto cheered.

"Uruse. Naruto, you're distracting her." Shikamaru stopped the blonde boy's shouting.

OoO

At this rate I'll waste most of my energy evading his attacks.- Hinata bit her lip as she dodged another hit. She pulled a kunai from her pouch quickly, while dodging the hardened sand. She waited for a chance to attack and aimed at a small distance from the Sand Nin's feet.

Naruto looked at the kunai that had just been thrown. "She missed! It didn't even reach him!" He yelled frantically.

"Iie." Shikamaru covered his nose as the dense smoke covered them. "It had a smoke bomb attached to it."

"I see… Sugoi!" Naruto said as he and Shikamaru jumped up and landed on the tree's branch. They both looked at the area below covered in thick purplish smoke.

"I want to see!" Naruto looked at the smoke eagerly. "Do you think she's attacked him yet?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Look. Over there." Naruto pointed at the two shadowy figures as the smoke dissipated. "I-ie!" He shouted surprised.

"Well that was better than I expected." He pushed the button on his timer. "Three minutes and twelve seconds." The jounin went down and helped Hinata up.

"Hinata are you alright?" Naruto asked as he jumped down.

"U-um... Yes, Yes." She got up from the ground with Shikamaru's help. Gaara's sand had caught her legs and caused her to fall flat-faced into the ground. That was totally unexpected; she couldn't believe that he had tracked her in that fog. She shook the remaining sand and dirt from her pants and jacket. "Gomen, Shikamaru-san, I couldn't…"

"You did fine. You just need to practice more." Shikamaru cut her apology and looked at Naruto. "Naruto it's your turn."

"Gaara, you'll see. I'll beat you!" Naruto boasted and walked towards the Sand Nin.

"Hmph." Gaara scoffed.

"Ok. Begin." Shikamaru signaled once again and set his timer.

Naruto grinned. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A dozen Narutos appeared.

Gaara's sand separated and quickly hit the replications. When the Sand Nin spotted the last "replication" the sand quickly lounged at it and covered him.

"Hey! Let me go!" Naruto furiously shouted and tried to escape from his sand cocoon.

"That was fast." Hinata said as Shikamaru and her watched in amazement. Shikamaru stopped the timer. "1:10"

"Gaara! Let me go you bastard! I'll beat you!" Naruto whined angrily in his cocoon.

"Uruse." Gaara said as the sand covered Naruto's mouth.

OoO

"Uchiha Sasuke." Hiashi eyed the teenager derisively.

Sasuke smirked as he entered the Hyuuga's dojo. "Hiashi-sama, I believe it's been some time."

"State your business." Hiashi glared at the teenager. Sasuke could clearly see that Hiashi did not like his presence here. He shrugged while looking at the older man, who sat across the large dojo.

"Here." Sasuke threw a small scroll at the old man, which Hiashi caught. Hiashi looked at the scroll a bit curiously and opened it hastily.

"What would _you_ gain from this?" Hiashi asked calmly after he scanned the contents of the scroll.

"The revival of my clan, of course." He said proudly as he looked at the older man.

"I can't believe you found this scroll after all these years. Demo, I won't let you have Hanabi." Hiashi glared at him. "If you're after the heir…"

"I don't want _her_." Sasuke sneered.

"I see…" Hiashi said as he looked at the scroll and rolled it back. "Well, if that's the case… You can do whatever you want with her." Hiashi threw the scroll.

Sasuke caught it and smirked.

OoO

"5:23, you're doing better, Hinata." Shikamaru kneeled at the exhausted Hyuuga.

"N-not as well as Naruto, though." Hinata blushed. She had been training with Gaara for a week and she had only been able to land one hit on his sand wall. Naruto, however…

"Well, I think those two could go fighting on for a whole day now." Shikamaru sighed as he watched Naruto perform his trademark jutsu. "He's gone so far, in just one week."

"Hai." She watched as Gaara hit the remaining replications.

"Hinata, go home… you deserve some rest. Meet us here tomorrow morning." Shikamaru stood up and yawned. "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on those two for you."

"Hai. Arigatou, Shikamaru-san. See you tomorrow, then." She bowed, stood up and walked.

OoO

She walked out of their training grounds, slowly. Occasionally, she would glance back at her two teammates. They were _so much_ better that her. She sighed inwardly. She was only good at medical jutsus. Sometimes, Shikamaru would ask her to heal either Gaara or Naruto when they were heavily wounded. But really, that was all she could do. Would her skills be useful in the battles? She hoped so. She really didn't want to let her teammates down.

She looked at the road ahead. She'd take the longer route, today. She wasn't really that anxious to go home. She sighed inwardly she was sure that Kurenai-sensei was busy training her new team. Hinata wondered how Shino, Kiba, Ino and Neji were doing. Surely, their new jounin senseis were making them work hard. She smiled. -Shikamaru was the best jounin sensei she had had. Um… Well, Kurenai-sensei was great too, but she lacked Shikamaru's sense of humor and laziness… Gaara and Naruto were ok too. - She unconsciously bumped onto someone.

"Hinata." Sasuke scoffed at her.

"Oh, U-um, Sasuke-san. G-gomen, g-omen n-asai." She apologized.

"I've been wanting to speak to you." He said coldly.

"E-e-eh, me?" Hinata widened her eyes as she curiously looked at him. -_Why did he want to speak to her?_ _What was it this time?_-

"Yes, you." He glared.

"W-what a-bout?" She widened her eyes and looked around. No one was around. Her knees felt very weak, suddenly.

"Koi. We can't speak here." Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled her.

Hinata followed him and instantly watched as a crowd of girls, which were hiding behind a bush, appear and angrily glare at her. -Did they think? Oh… U-um no, no-way. Oh God.- She blushed a little.

–Where was Sasuke going anyways? What did he have to say to her? Demo, it must be very important.- She followed him, in spite of her obvious fear, for some minutes. She looked at the peculiar gates where Sasuke had stopped. _They had arrived to the Uchiha clan's manor!_ She shivered a little, this place was definitely frightening her. She looked at Sasuke while he opened the huge gate. He looked back at her and she followed him inside.

The Uchiha manor was almost as big as the Hyuuga's. She recalled visiting some places, but she hadn't been here since… well. She stared at Sasuke for a while. He didn't even look sad. Sasuke must be very strong; _if her entire clan had died_… Well, she really couldn't think about it, it always brought tears to her eyes.

They both entered a small house, which was isolated from the rest of the village. She watched him curiously. His eyes showed no particular emotion. She on the other hand had gotten quite nervous when she realized no one else was here. She was alone with Sasuke. Alone. She bit her lip nervously and began to fidget with her hands. She watched as he took a seat from the wooden table and sat on it.

"Sit." He ordered.

"H-hai." She stuttered and walked towards the table. She looked at him still perplexed.

"Read." He ordered as he took a scroll from his pocket and gave it to her.

"U-um, Hai." She curiously took the scroll and opened it and began to read its contents. She stopped about halfway and looked at him sincerely. "O-one-gai, t-ell me you're joking, S-Sasuke-san?"

"You're already eighteen and your father has agreed." Sasuke looked at her seriously.

"N-nani Otou-san…?" She abruptly choked and then she looked down. She knew what that could only mean…"I see…" She frowned as she held back her tears and handed the scroll back to him. Even though, she had been kicked from her clan, they still held some degree of power over her life. _How foolish had she actually been?_ Demo… Had her father asked Sasuke to marry her? Had her father forced him? It had to be! But why did he say that her Otou-san had agreed? Did he actually want to? Iie…What would Sasuke want from this, anyways? Why her? She looked at him curiously and time fearfully.

"I'll expect you to move by tomorrow morning." He said sternly. "Don't try anything stupid."

"Sasuke-san." She stood up and lowered her head as she placed her small hands on the table. Sasuke watched as her blank eyes looked at his own inquisitively. "W-why are you doing this?"

OoO

Why? Why was he doing this?- Sasuke looked at her. Her normally emotionless white eyes were now filled with tears. Sasuke hadn't expected her to take this whole ordeal so… well. He was at least expecting a fight from her. But there she was, handling herself. She hadn't shouted at him, she hadn't hit him, she hadn't whined, she hadn't argued, she hadn't fussed… She had an incredible endurance, no doubt taught from years of harsh discipline; courtesy of her father. He was going to have to try harder.

"I want the revival of my clan." The proud Uchiha lied.

"Demo, there are girls who are much…" Hinata said suddenly as she looked at him eye to eye.

"Iie, Don't Argue with me." He cut her off firmly while slamming his fist on the table. The room became very silent with his sudden outburst.

_She_ _never did change. Her low esteem was still a predominant part of her attitude. –_ Sasuke thought flustered. This whole thing had gotten into his nerves; he looked attentively at her as he waited for some kind of reaction. Why hadn't she even fought back in the first place? It'd be easier dealing with someone who had fought back. Why wasn't this working? He glared at her, scaring her even more.

"From now on, I don't want _you _to question my decisions." He threatened her as he stood up too. He glowered at her menacingly, as he was obviously sickened by her _weakness._

She looked at him and nodded sadly in defeat. Even if she went against him… What would she prove? He would surely waste no time hurting her just like the last time. She cried silently and retreated slowly, not daring to look back at the dark room.

OoO

Hinata cried silently that evening. She really didn't want Kurenai-sensei, Neji or her teammates to know about this. Demo, Sasuke had said… She wiped her tears again. If they knew, it would only cause her more trouble. They were better not knowing, anyways.

Hinata cried a little more, she had to be strong and accept the fact. -This was her fate… Not marrying to Itachi didn't mean she'd be free of marrying another Uchiha. How cunning had her father been! She clenched her fists angrily. This must have been otou-san's initial plan. - She thought about it for a while. His father must have made some kind of deal with Sasuke. Otou-san must have fooled Sasuke into believing that she was still the Hyuuga heiress. It fit perfectly into the plan; Hanabi would be officially named the Hyuuga heiress now that _she_ would marry Sasuke and form part of the Uchiha clan. Plus, her father wouldn't need to take drastic measures to prevent the whole village from knowing that his defective heir had been discarded from the clan. This "arrangement" would definitely be very beneficial to the clan. But, why now? -

A knock on the apartment's door, interrupted her thoughts. She wiped her tears with her sleeves and headed towards the door, opening it only slightly.

"Hinata-sama. I must have a word with you." Neji said concerned.

"Hai, Come in." She opened the door while trying to hide her sadness.

They both took a sat besides each other in the couch. "Hinata-sama." Neji stated seriously and looked at her. "Your father…" he paused not being able to finish the sentence.

"I already know, Neji-nii-san." She looked down as her eyes began to water. She covered her eyes with her hands wiping her tears in the process.

"Hinata-sama, I'm sorry. I came to see you as soon as I heard about it. Some of the branch members overheard and I…" Neji looked at her and frowned.

"Don't worry, Neji-nii-san. This is the fate of a defective heir, isn't it?" She asked as she looked back at him.

He nodded slowly and frowned. "Was it your father who told you?"

She shook her head and answered: "Iie. Sasuke-san… did."

"I see." He looked at her. "I've lost the little respect I had for your father." Her cousin scoffed and paused. "Maybe we are similar after all, Hinata-sama."

She nodded weakly as she scooted closer to her cousin. He looked at her and smiled a little. She rested her head lightly against his shoulder. "Hai, Neji-nii-san."

OoO

Yuuhi Kurenai opened the door to her apartment. It was late now, that escort mission had taken her team much longer than what she expected. Maybe if Kiba and Sakura hadn't argued the whole day, the escort might have been much faster. She put her keys back into her pocket and walked towards the living room. She found her former student sleeping. In a rather cute scene, Hinata's head was currently resting in her cousin's lap.

She looked at Hinata's cousin, the Hyuuga Genius, Neji. How ironic, this had been the same boy that had tried to kill Hinata some years before. She watched as he carefully placed his cousin's head on the couch, trying not to wake her up. He succeeded and motioned Kurenai to follow him outside silently. She did so, curiously.

"Is there something you wish to speak to me about?" The jounin asked as soon as they had left the apartment.

"Hai… It's about Hinata-sama..." Neji said seriously.

"Is she alright?" Kurenai interrupted concerned.

"Hai." He nodded.

She sighed relieved. "Then, what is it Neji?" She looked at him seriously.

"Well, you see…" He cleared his throat. "Her father has engaged her to someone."

"Demo, she's no longer a Hyuuga! He practically kicked her out of the main house!" Kurenai said clearly outraged. "Why does he still think he can control Hinata? As far as I know isn't even considered a Hyuuga anymore." Kurenai clenched her fists angrily; this had not been the first time that she had been in such a position. She still hated the old Hyuuga for treating Hinata like some object.

"…" Neji stared at her.

"Demo, it all seems to fit perfectly now." She looked at the Chuunin after a while. "He wanted to find an easy way to get rid of her, without dishonoring the clan's name."

"Hai." He nodded.

"So." Kurenai bit her lip. "Who is her…? Do you know? Is he from here?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He said hatefully.

Her eyes widened. -She clearly didn't expect this. - "And he agreed to this?"

"It seems that he was the one who approached Hiashi." Neji explained.

She looked at the white eyed Chuunin. "Why would he? What could he possibly achieve?"

"The restoration of his clan. The Sharingan is an evolved Byakugan after all. The Hyuuga's bloodline is very sought." He sneered.

"I see…"

"Hinata-sama doesn't want anyone to know about this Kurenai-san." Neji said as he began to walk away.

"Hai. Demo, Neji… how soon does…" She bit her lip waiting for him to reply. She hoped it wasn't too soon.

"He wants her to move by tomorrow." Neji said as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

The female jounin widened her eyes. "T-tomorrow?" She sighed. "Arigatou, Neji."

The Chuunin nodded and left the building quietly.

OoO

"Hinata." Kurenai called her former student a hint of sadness was perceptible in her words. "Neji's here." They both had stayed awake last night packing Hinata's belongings. She had tried to comfort her student, but Hinata just kept telling her that she was fine. Something Kurenai highly doubted, though. Hinata had just been disowned by her father nine months ago, and now this... Kurenai shook her head; she hated how Hinata's family treated her.

"Hai." Hinata got up from her room's single small bed. She walked towards the entrance and greeted her cousin. "Ohayou, Neji-nii-san."

"Ohayou, Hinata-sama. Are you ready?" He asked.

OoO

"Hai, Arigatou Neji-nii-san." She bowed. Neji had agreed to accompany her. She felt a bit better, now that her cousin would escort her there. At least, with her cousin there Sasuke wouldn't try to do something mean. Hinata and her cousin had agreed on leaving Hinata's possessions early before Neji's team began to practice. Since both Neji and Sasuke were on the same team, Neji wouldn't have to worry about being late. Her team had already started their training so… she would probably be late. Would they be mad at her? She dismissed the thought from her head, her teammates wouldn't be angry if she was late.

"Hinata-sama. Are these all?" Neji asked his distracted cousin.

"Hai." She said noticing the small bags Neji was carrying. "Arigatou, Neji-nii-san." Hinata smiled halfheartedly. _Even as hard as she tried she couldn't deny her unhappiness. _

"Let's go." He carried the bags effortlessly and headed for the exit. Hinata followed him and looked at her sensei. "Arigatou, Arigatou _for everything_, Kurenai-sensei." She bowed and smiled.

"Hinata." Kurenai frowned at her. "Take care."

"I will." She nodded and followed her cousin outside.

oOo

"How troublesome!" Shikamaru yawned as he approached his two subordinates. They looked all beaten up. He looked around for his rookie medic nin subordinate. "Hey. Where's Hinata?" He asked.

"Shikamaru!" A black eyed Naruto angrily waved up and down. "If we knew where she was we wouldn't be looking like this!" Naruto looked at him angrily.

Gaara scoffed at Naruto. "Quit your whining, it's annoying."

Shikamaru observed his two subordinates closely. They looked pretty bad. Gaara wasn't as wounded as Naruto, though. But, Hinata wasn't one to be late. He could expect that from Naruto, but Hinata… He looked at the clouds above and sighed. Something pretty bad must have happened if the normally punctual Hinata was late.

oOo

"It's here, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked her cousin.

"Hai." She answered without taking her eyes of from the ground. They had finally arrived to her new home. There was no way she could escape the inevitable now. She reached and knocked the door slowly. She knocked once… She waited. Maybe he wasn't home; she smiled inwardly at the thought as she knocked again… Obviously, praying that he wouldn't answer the door.

She waited for a minute and turned back to look at Neji, somewhat relieved. She began to walk towards her cousin, but the sound of an opening door interrupted her.

"Hyuuga." Sasuke glared at the taller boy.

"Uchiha." Neji glared back. Hinata closed her eyes and turned back to face Sasuke. "Sasuke-san. Ohayou." She said softly.

Sasuke didn't respond because he was still busy giving _the eye_ to Neji. She looked back at her cousin who stood glaring back at Sasuke. "U-mm… Sasuke-san?" Hinata interrupted them.

"What?" He asked rudely and angrily.

"I- um…" She cowered back a little.

"Just get in…" Sasuke rolled his eyes and moved from the entrance allowing her to go through. Neji watched as Hinata entered the house. He began to follow his cousin in, but Sasuke blocked his path. They both glared at each other intently, since those two needed no words to express their obvious hate for each other.

"If you hurt Hinata-sama, I'll…" Neji warned.

"You'll what?" Sasuke raised his tone of voice and defied his teammate.

Neji quickly grabbed Sasuke's neck tightly. "I'll…" Neji warned angrily and looked at the Uchiha in the eye. "Neji-nii-san." Hinata interrupted and frowned slightly.

The older Hyuuga loosened his grip when he heard Hinata. Seeing this, Sasuke slapped Neji's arm off his neck. They glared at each other again.

"Neji-nii-san, arigatou…You can leave now, I'll take them." Hinata whispered softly and walked towards her cousin. Sasuke moved again and let her pass, while _still_ glaring at Neji. She picked the bags up and entered the house again.

Neji backed away and stared angrily at Sasuke before leaving. The Uchiha smirked victoriously as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. -This was getting interesting. – He smirked.

Owari…. Sighs. _GaaHina fans must be killing me right now. _I'm so sorry, but the next chapter is also a **major** SasuHina with minor GaaHina partsDemo… I still haven't decided on the real pairing yet. And Um… yes… This chapter might be confusing. Oh, well please review. Please!

Recommended Stories:

GaaHina: Ambidextrous by Forbidden Toast. (Very, very funny.)

ItaHina: Un Pacte Avec Le Diable by Gemmer. (French. I love this story and she updates very fast. ;P)

SasuHina: The Magic of Love by ShikaruTo. (I love this one so much!)

Special thanks to:

fractured wings: Sighs. I love your stories. Especially fractured wings, which I loved it the most. :p Thanks for your review. Update your stories soon, too!

mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY: Thanks for the review! And I'm on your alert list… Thanks!

MewsayRyoko-hellsing: Well, technically, you do know by now. –smiles- Thanks for your review.

Lems: I hope you're happy with this chapter too. Yes, I do think they're like twins. After all, they're the only one s who could understand loneliness, besides Naruto.

Magy: Thanks for your review!

Shanice Miharu: Um… Yeah, I made that up. I really don't think Gaara likes tea, anyways. Thanks!

Xoni Newcomer: Neji does care for Hinata, it's just that with Sasuke being his teammate and all… Thanks for your review.

Newblue: Thanks, I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Windwhisprer: Thanks for your review!

Hatami: Good guess, but he might give it to her soon. Thanks!

Forgottendream: Thanks!

Chibi Tetra: Mine too! Although I really like fics that have anyone x Hinata, too. Thanks for your review.

candy44: Yeah, but I think Sasuke's really unpredictable though. Um… I still don't know if I'm pairing Shikamaru with someone. Thanks.

Kazezero: Um, if you copy pasted the title, I might have gotten the spelling wrong. I'm so embarrassed. Well I put the correct title and author this time. Do read it, it's excellent! Thanks for your review.

Akabikam: She's fine already though. Yeah, Sasuke's so mean. –nods- Thanks for your review. .

Dearx: Thanks! I hope you like this chapter too.

Frosted shadowz: Thanks for your Review!

JayHun: Thanks for your review, too! Itachi will appear later.

kenshinlover2002: Sasuke was smirking because… Sasuke's in denial… I hope you like this chapter too. Thanks.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Uh… Sasuke-san?" Hinata's soft voice interrupted Sasuke's intent glaring. The **_last _**Uchiha had been staring at her retreating cousin for the past minutes. "Sasuke-san?" She asked again, inwardly hoping to catch his attention this time.

"What is it?" He asked in his usual rude manner, not staring back at her.

"Um… Whe-re shou-should I?" Hinata stuttered a little and looked at her feet. - She tried to calm herself down and bit her lip. What should she do? - She thought nervously. _Demo… She would try to remain in control…. _

Sasuke sighed deeply as he turned back to face her. "Follow me." The former Hyuuga looked at him and nodded. She followed him unwillingly into a small room. Hinata looked around for a while. The only furniture the room possessed was a small bed, a drawer and a closet. She, then, proceeded to place her bags in the bed. Hinata gazed at the Uchiha as he was about to close the door and leave her alone.

"Ah… Su-Sumima-sen." She brought her small hand to a rise.

Sasuke looked back seemingly annoyed and rolled his eyes. "What?"

"A-h, It's about my Team Practice. Onegai, I need to…" Hinata looked down as he watched her.

"Che…" Sasuke sneered and narrowed his eyes.

"Onegai. Sasuke-san…" Her voice pleaded while she looked at the floor.

"Go." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Honto?" Hinata raised her head and smiled a little.

Sasuke nodded slightly.

"Arigatou Sasuke-san." She blushed and grinned happily as she rose swiftly from her bed, causing some of her belongings to fall. "Ah… G-gomen." Hinata smiled sheepishly at Sasuke. She then laughed a little at her clumsiness, as she picked her things.

OoO

Sasuke blushed a little at the sight and panicked. He instinctively looked away immediately as he sighed inwardly in frustration. Calming down he turned around and watched her place her small bag on the bed again, apparently getting ready to leave.

"Wait." He stopped Hinata suddenly causing her to jump up a little. He ignored her reaction and proceeded to ask her his question. "When will you be back?"

"U-m, I think around five. Is that fine with you Sasuke-san?" She answered a bit doubtfully.

He nods awkwardly as the former Hyuuga smiles and proceeds to leave him alone.

Sasuke sighs heavily as he presses his head against the wall. –Kuso, he was pathetic...-

OoO

"Hinata-chan!" The black eyed Naruto waved. Gaara and Shikamaru looked up to face the approaching medic nin.

"Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-san, Gaara-san!" She greeted happily as she panted a little; she pleased that she had finally arrived.

"Oi, Hinata your teammates and I were very worried about you!" Shikamaru joked.

"O-h, a-ah a-h. Gomen-nasai." She said sincerely as she bowed and blushed, embarrassed.

"Ne, Hinata! I was actually joking." Shikamaru smiled awkwardly. "Don't take it too seriously, Okay?" He apologized, somewhat.

"Oh, Hai!" Realization struck her and she blushed again in embarrassment.

"Ano! Hinata-chan! Will you help me with these?" Naruto pointed his bruises and scars as Shikamaru sighed.

"Hai. Naruto-kun." She sat down and unpacked her medical supplies. Gaara scoffed at the blonde shinobi. "Weakling."

"You Bastard!" Naruto stuck his tongue at the Sand shinobi. "Um… Naruto-kun…" Hinata interrupted as she blushed. "Onegai, I need you to stay still."

"Oh, Hai, Hai, Hai." Naruto grinned as he rubbed the back of his forehead innocently.

"Baka." Gaara crossed his arms and looked away.

"Heh. I Really showed you this time! Didn't I Gaara?" Naruto laughed.

Hinata breathed heavily as she tried to attend Naruto's wounds, because her heart was beating at a fast rate. "Hinata-chan?" Naruto looked down at her curiously. Hinata felt that she could've fainted right there. "Are you alright?" He questioned.

"Hai!" She squeaked and decided it was better to attend Naruto's wounds fast before she got some sort of heart attack. She proceeded to rub the ointment hastily and in a rather messy way. She bandaged his wounds, and sighed in relief when she was done with her work. She then looked up at Naruto, who looked back at her. She rapidly diverted her gaze towards the Sand Shinobi to hide her blush from Naruto. It wasn't until then that Hinata noticed the Gaara's wound.

"Gaara-san, you're hurt too!" She looked at Gaara's shoulder, concerned.

"It's nothing." Gaara denied the obvious.

Naruto scoffed, this time around. "Hah! Still can't accept that I pounded you good this time!"

"Baka. I said don't need…" He answered, but was cut off by Hinata's voice.

"Demo, Gaara-san… Your wounds could get infected." She said shyly poking her fingers.

"Fine." He looked away as the medic nin smiled and approached him with her supplies.

"Eh! Now who's the weakling… Eh Gaara?" Naruto burst in laughter and clutched his own stomach.

"Oi! How troublesome. Naruto…" Shikamaru nagged.

"Demo, Shikamaru." Naruto crossed his arms. "You're no fun!"

"Che, Uruse." He sat down and watched the clouds above. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Um… Gaara-san." Hinata looked at her patient. "You might need to… um…" She blushed furiously. Naruto and Shikamaru stopped and looked at her curiously.

"What?" He asked her in an annoyed manner.

"U-m…" She stuttered. "-I-ne-ed-yo-u t-o ta-ke yo-ur sh-irt o-ff!" Hinata squeaked.

Naruto and Shikamaru suddenly burst out laughing loudly. Gaara glared at her and Hinata felt she could die of embarrassment, literally. She heaved a deep sigh as the blush continued to spread.

OoO

"All done!" Hinata looked at her teammates relieved as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. The wound wasn't as deep as she thought, but still needed proper treatment. "Um…Gaara-san are the wrappings too tight?" She asked when she noticed he was still looking at her.

He shook his head. "I'm glad." Hinata smiled and nodded a little.

"Oi, Let's go eat." Shikamaru sighed. The jounin watched as Naruto's ears perked up; Gaara stopped looking awkwardly at a certain kunoichi and Hinata smiled at him.

"But? Hmph! What about our training?" Naruto asked.

"Baka. Do you really want Hinata to do extra work?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Hmph." Naruto got up and crossed his arms. Gaara got up and hastily put his shirt on as Hinata began to pack her supplies again.

"Good." Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and began to walk.

OoO

"Let's see… Where should we eat?" Shikamaru looked around at their options. -He personally preferred some barbeque.- He thought as he eyed the barbeque stand happily.

"Ramen!" Naruto interrupted.

The jounin sighed; he should've seen it coming. "Eh? Naruto do you always think about Ramen?" He asked.

Naruto laughed at Shikamaru. "Hai!"

Shikamaru looked back at Hinata and Gaara who were walking behind them. He'd let them decide this time. "Oi, Gaara, Hinata where do you want to eat?"

Hinata looked at her captain and then looked at Naruto, who looked like he really wanted to eat Ramen. How could she possibly say no? "Um… Ramen is fine with me." Hinata played with her fingers. Shikamaru sighed in defeat. She smiled shyly and began to follow Gaara, who was already walking towards the Ramen shop.

Naruto jumped happily. "Ramen!"

"Jeez, you are one lucky guy, Naruto." Shikamaru said as he watched Gaara and Hinata walk.

"Nande?" Naruto asked confused and stopped his own victory dance.

"It's nothing." Shikamaru sighed at Naruto's naïve nature.

"Shikamaru. Tell me!" Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Jeez, you're one annoying guy." He sighed exasperatedly and walked past Naruto. "You wouldn't understand anyways."

"Huh? What was that all about?" Naruto watched as his leader entered the shop. He scratched his head. -What was it this time? - He shrugged and headed towards Ichiraku.

OoO

Kankurou eyed his two companions below. He sat atop a tree's branch, above his annoying teammates. Oh how he loathed kids! Especially stuck up kids, and he had ended with two…. Not one, but two! Such bad luck… Even having Gaara in his team would have been much better. He looked at them again.

Yep, much better. At least Gaara would listen to him from time to time. He watched as the two glared at each other intently. Kankurou shrugged the unsettling the feeling he was getting from watching those two. Damn that perverted jounin! This was his fault! Where was he anyways? He wanted to finish the stupid mission already.

"Yo." Kakashi stared at Kankurou right in the eye, interrupting Kankurou's thoughts and at the same time scaring him off. The Puppeteer backed away instinctively as he heard Neji sneer. Kankurou clenched his fists and sighed. Kakashi shrugged innocently and jumped down from the tree.

"Um." Kakashi was about to apologize for his tardiness when Sasuke cut him off.

"Just get to the point." The Uchiha glared at the special jounin.

"Well, um, you see. Hokage-sama says I need to go to on a special mission, so you're… well um… dismissed." He rubbed the back of his head, hoping that they wouldn't be too mad.

"Nani!" Kankurou's eye twitched as Neji crossed his arm and Sasuke prepared to leave.

"Well see you… um… I got to go." Kakashi waved and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Baka." Kankurou sighed. These Leaf nins were really starting to get into his nerves. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to become a jounin anymore.

OoO

"Here you go." Ayame said as she placed the bowls of ramen in front of team three.

"Arigatou, Ayame-chan!" Naruto waved at her and she responded by smiling.

"Itadakimasu." Shikamaru and Hinata said at the same time. Naruto nodded as Gaara shrugged and grabbed his chopsticks from the right end of the table. They began to eat their meal.

"The jounin selection exam is in two weeks… " Hinata sighed and interrupted their silence after a while.

"Oi! Don't worry about it Hinata. Just do your best in the exam, okay?" Shikamaru smiled as he tried to comfort the nervous Hyuuga.

"Um, Hai, I'll do my best." She nodded slightly and continued to eat.

"Hinata-chan! Don't worry so much! With me and Gaara on your team there's no way we'll loose! Right Gaara?" Naruto poked Gaara and grinned happily.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and shook his head while smiling. Gaara looked at Hinata and Naruto and nodded slightly. "See I told you, there's no way we'll loose!" Naruto smiled.

"Demo…" Hinata whispered a little. "I think, Neji-nii-san's team is quite strong too."

Gaara scoffed when he heard her comment. "See, even Gaara thinks they're no match for us!" Naruto pointed at his teammate. "Anyways, I beat your cousin, remember?"

She nodded and smiled slightly.

"Baka, it's Uchiha Sasuke she's worried about." Gaara interrupted.

"Honto?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. The blonde boy opened his mouth to say something, but paused to think and then he spoke again. "Don't worry about him Hinata-chan! I won't let that bastard win! Much less hurt you! I promise!" He grinned widely. "We're a team, now remember? We're supposed to support each other, right?"

Shikamaru looked at his team and grinned widely.

"Arigatou Naruto-kun, Gaara-san. I'll do my best." She smiled and blushed a little. They all nodded approvingly and continued to eat.

OoO

I

I

"Sasuke-san?" Hinata called shyly and knocked on the wooden door again. She had spent some time with her teammates before heading to her new home. She looked at her small wrist watch, it was five already. Hinata sat down and decided to wait for the Uchiha a bit longer, not that she minded his tardiness, anyways. She sighed inwardly; Sasuke could be a scary person sometimes. Demo, she really wondered if he was the same Sasuke, she used to know. After all, the little Uchiha she used to remember always seemed to smile. Kinda reminded her of Naruto… She yawned. -But not anymore.- She rested her head in her knees and involuntarily began to doze off. She hadn't gotten any rest last night, and she would just take a quick nap.

OoO

"Hinata?" The petite girl felt someone tap her shoulder and call her name. She woke up immediately; blinked rapidly; stood up hastily. "Oh… Uh… Gomen Sasuke-san." She bowed, her face turning pale. He gave her one of his annoyed looks as he rolled his eyes. "Help me with these." He shoved a grocery bag into her hands and fetched his key from his pocket.

She took it and watched curiously as he tried to open the door. Hinata could easily tell he wasn't left handed. She smiled slightly at Sasuke, who had a hard time with the door. Hinata then took the remaining bag from Sasuke and watched as he finally opened the door. She followed him in and placed the packages atop the counter.

"Have you eaten anything, yet?" He asked as he stared at her.

"I-ie." Hinata admitted a bit shyly and looked at her feet.

"What would you like?" He said as he turned his back at her and began to unpack the groceries.

She widened her eyes curiously.

"What?" Sasuke looked back at her clearly annoyed.

"Oh, Um… A-anything is fine Sasuke-san, Arigatou." Hinata stuttered.

OoO

"Oi." Shikamaru yawned. "Playing shougi with you is boring."

"Nani! You baka. That was just luck!" Temari protested.

"Hai, Hai, Hai." He said mockingly.

"Kuso. One last time!" Temari demanded.

The lazy jounin sighed. "How troublesome." He said as he readied the board for another match.

"Uruse." Temari grinned.

"Ano-sa. Temari." Shikamaru scratched his chin as he moved his first piece forward. "How's Ino doing?"

Temari raised her brow before replying: "She's doing fine, still afraid of Shino's kekai bugs, though." Temari moved her piece forward too. "How is Gaara doing?"

"He's doing fine too. I never expected him to get along with his teammates, though." Shikamaru answered and moved his next piece.

"Well, I guess that's how Gaara is… unpredictable." She smiled and moved her piece.

"Jeez, Temari, checkmate." Shikamaru moved his piece and yawned as he stretched his arms.

"Eh? You!" Temari shrieked.

OoO

"Bu-But!" Hinata protested. "I can..."

"Iie." He cut her sentence and crossed his arms. "You're too clumsy; you'll probably end breaking the dishes." Sasuke glared at her.

"Ah… Demo, I." She bit her lip to prevent from speaking further. -He was probably right. But she wanted to help, even if it was just a little.-

"Demo, Sasuke-san, I want to help. I feel it's the least I can do." She spoke shyly and softly.

"Iie." He spoke sternly and glared at her.

Hinata sighed inwardly in frustration as she went back to the table and sat on a chair. Now, she really felt like crying. She swallowed hard and tried not to. She stayed quiet for a while, not daring to speak again.

**Owari **

Sorry! It's been such a long while since I've updated. I had a huge writer's block. I'll try to have the next chapter up the upcoming week. Please, PLEASE Review.


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